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“I’m sorry.”
“Absolutely fine,” the boar said. “Please do tell your friend not to make that atrocious noise.”
“I apologize again. Diesel doesn’t know better.”
The boar huffed.
Kassia shot me a bemused look and climbed inside the carriage.
I gave the vestaloon our destination.
“I’m really sorry,” she said softly as I shut the door. Diesel sat on her lap, looking out the window. “I’ve messed up already.”
“It’s an honest mistake. You won’t be the first.” I tugged both her and Diesel up onto my lap, wrapping my arms around them. Because I could tell how bad she felt, I leaned forward to kiss the top of her head.
She looked up at me. “I’ll be careful from now on. Is there anything else I need to know about before we arrive?”
“I don’t think so. We live in a similar way to humans.”
“Any unusual customs?”
I tried to think of any but couldn’t. “You should be fine.”
She relaxed against the seat. “Good. Only one faux pas then.”
I hoped she wouldn’t worry too much. I wanted this to be fun for her, not stressful.
The carriage took us through the center of town. Kassia gawked out the window, commenting on the market we passed and the shops along the way. On the opposite side of town, the carriage made its way up one of the numerous slopes, finally leveling off near where my parents had built their home after they mated. The vestaloon took us up the steep driveway and stopped in front of the big, three-story home I grew up in.
“Oh, my,” Kassia said. “I didn’t realize you lived in a castle.”
To some, it might appear as such, but it was smaller than many of the buildings around it. “This is modest by orc standards.”
“It’s bigger than the cute houses in town.”
“Because we’re in the hills. Most of the buildings here are large.”
She frowned. “You said you only have one brother. Why live in such a huge place?”
“My parents had high expectations. My mother wanted at least ten orclings, though it wasn’t to be. She hoped to fill their home with the sound of orc laughter.”
She scrunched her face. “How many orclings do you want?”
Did I dare tell her? “We could start with eight, don’t you think?”
Chapter 8
Kassia
I gulped. “Eight children?”
“Orclings, here, though I suppose we could call them half-human/half-orc,” Jarum said.
“We’re not officially mated yet, and you want eight kids?” I was overwhelmed by his huge, palatial home. Now to hear this? “I suppose we should solidify this before we mate, unless you brought a bunch of huge condoms.”
“None have been constructed yet that fit our girth.”
“A true deficit womenfolk need to resolve fast.”
